Sunday, January 24, 2010

THE YEAR OF LIVING (NOT) DANGEROUSLY


Sentry Fume Extractor.

The fume extractor set up at my soldering bench.

All the safety equipment in the world apparently doesn't protect you from a slip of the pliers!



Safety is such a hot button issue in metalworking, as it should be. Nothing is as important as our health. I think a lot of what we do involves common sense, but it's easy to convince ourselves that what we can't see won't hurt us. Recently, I started getting a bit more serious about safety in my studio for my sake and for the sake of my students. I got flashback arrestors for my new torch, better respirator masks for enameling and most importantly (and most expensively!) a fume extractor for cleaning the air of my workspace. I got the fume extractor from a company called Sentry Air Systems. I did a lot of research on how best to extract particulate, soldering fumes, and solvent fumes form the air. This system uses either an industrial Hepa filter or a carbon filter, depending on what type of material you're trying to extract and a pre-filter to catch larger particles. It's fairly quiet, quite portable and really seems to be doing the job well. It's not fun like a new torch or a hammer, but I think it might be the best money I've spent in a long time. Check out Sentry Air Systems here.


4 comments:

Gail said...

That's really cool

Cristina Leonard said...

Cool enough to make you come and visit me?

Susan Dilger said...

Thanks for the tip on the Sentry. I'm DEFINITELY looking into it! I have my solder station set up in my garage, but in the winter, it's too cold to open the doors (which is my ventilation) Did you buy it directly from them? Did they help you pick out the right one for your space?

Cristina Leonard said...

Hi Susan! Yes, I ordered it directly from them. If you want I'll email you some contact info for the person I dealt with. They did help me figure out which unit was best for me, especially what filter options would work best for my applications. The Floor Sentry will work great for most sized rooms as the vent is placed directly in the area where you are soldering. It's not even so loud to be distracting. I've been extremely happy with it so far.
I'm looking forward to seeing you next month in Santa Fe!